How to knit the Horseshoe Cable Stitch

A step-by-step tutorial on knitting a beautiful stitch often called double cable, horseshoe cable, or wishbone cable.

The true beauty about cable stitches is that they look oh so complicated but most of them are quite easy to knit. If you are wondering how to knit a horseshoe cable, then you came to the right place.

In this tutorial, I’m going to show you this easy 6-row repeat which creates a beautiful (but sadly not reversible) pattern. It’s often used for Aran sweaters but will look great on almost all other garments (like hats, etc) as well.

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It is also called “Wishbone Cable” because it looks a bit like a lot of wishbones strung on a chain. The alternate name “Double Cable stitch” derives from the fact that you are actually knitting two 3×3 cables next to each other. So quite similar to the Honeycomb cable, but you always cross the cables in the same direction.

Tip: Here’s a lovely practice pattern for a mug cozy that makes use of this stitch. My cable socks also feature it.

Instructions

Cast on 18 stitches.

• Row 1: p3, k12, p3
• Row 2: k3, p12, k3
• Row 3: p3, k12, p3
• Row 4: k3, p12, k3
• Row 5: p3, C6B, C6F, p3
• Row 6: k3, p12, k3

C6B = slip 3 stitches to cable needle and hold in back
C6F = slip 3 stitches to cable needle and hold in front

You can exchange the cable cross stitches in row 5 as “p3, C6F, C6B, p3” if you want the Horseshoe cables to point towards the bottom of your project (so, upside down).

If you want to knit it in the round the repeat would go like this:

• Row 1: p3, k12, p3
• Row 2: p3, p12, p3
• Row 3: p3, k12, p3
• Row 4: p3, p12, p3
• Row 5: p3, C6B, C6F, p3
• Row 6: p3, p12, p3

Attention: In either case, you would have to adjust the repeat slightly if you want to string together multiple horseshoe cables next to each other – especially when knitting in the round.

Then row 5 should read like this: *p3, C6B, C6F*

You can space out the cable crosses even further or bunch them together with only 2 rows in between for a more condensed look.

Be aware that you are free to adjust the purl stitches around the cables freely. I added 3 purl stitches to either side but you can cut them down completely or even add more purl stitches. It’s really up to you!

Small double cable

Naturally, you can also knit the classic double cable by combining two 2×2 cables. In this case, the repeat would look like this:

• Row 1: p3, k8, p3
• Row 2: k3, p8, k3
• Row 3: p3, C4B, C4F, p3
• Row 4: k3, p8, k3
• Row 5: p3, k8, p3 (optional)
• Row 6: k3, p8, k3 (optional)

As the cables are a bit smaller, I personally feel that 3 or 5 in between rows are enough but feel free to adjust this smaller version of the classic horseshoe cable according to your own preferences.

And again, if you exchange row 3 for “p3, C4F, C4B” you can knit the small double cable upside down.

That’s how you knit the HorseShoe Cable Stitch. Feel free to comment with your questions and I’m sure we’ll find a solution together!